The Correct Effort In Studying The Zohar

All of our concentration, our entire search is always inward. In fact it happens unconsciously, even when we use slang, we say: "This person is scatterbrained, whereas that one is more of an extrovert, more of an introvert, more focused" and so on. That is because we feel that this is how it works in nature.

Every one of us must search inside of himself the innermost state. We will never be able to identify a more exalted state than the inner state that is in close proximity to us. I can imagine, fantasize about the World of Ein Sof (Infinity), but eventually I will discover that this is the adjacent state, slightly higher than my current state.

Therefore, all the strengths that I gather and all of my efforts should focus on finding the vessels and the discernments which stand compared to every word that is written here: "city," "tower," "ascending," "descending," "angels," "demons," "spirits," "sons of Ephraim," "Ezekiel," "the Creator who descends to see what the people have done."

Those things exist within me, the Elyon (Upper One) presents this book before me, He tells me only about the things that are appropriate for me, similarly to the way that adults tell a baby about the world. And we will not be able to hear and see more than that here, even though there is much more in this book than what we see right now.

It can be said that we are in the hands of a great expert in education, who knows how to present to us only what is good for us and no more. Therefore we must make all efforts to locate inside of us the discernments that exist in the text. And then we will ascend to those discernments, identify them, live with them like a baby who grew in a day or two, and perhaps even within a week or a month we will already be found in a different level. He already understands, is somewhat familiar with things, discovers deeper things, more inner, which he did not see and did not identify previously.

This is how we are; In this text we will reveal new discernments, new connections, because everything is in relation to the Kabbalists. This is our whole work. Nonetheless, this process will lead us to discover that the entire world is internal, and therefore in the friends' influence on us, the common thought with regards to reaching and revealing this internality should be expressed as well. When we reveal that internality, we discover that we are there together, that all of us are assembling this picture. Each and every one discovers everyone there, inside. At one point, all those forces, all the qualities, all the discernments, will accumulate together, and there will not be any collision between them. This is the work. Therefore, it does not matter how much we understand, but rather the effort is important.

To Approach The Book Of Zohar Properly

The Book of Zohar requires us to feel the internal warmth from the connection between us.  It also creates that warmth by increasing that connection and causing us to really feel that we all belong to a single source.  With that we need to try to feel that we belong to each other, otherwise it is very difficult to relate to the text.  It has to be a feeling and not an intellectual effort.  This feeling of connection needs to be like a precondition from which we go deeper, because the spiritual world is all in each one of us, as it is said "Israel, Torah, and the Creator are One," "One, Unique, and Unified."

We enter the text from this point of connection and from there we identify all the internal observations.  It also helps to attribute everything in the text to one force, even as we read about things that seem against that force. For example, we read about people building a city and a tower against the will of the Creator.

We need to understand that the Zohar deals with internal forces, all governed by one force, as it is said, "There is none besides Him;" everything we observe comes from Him.  These opposing forces, like two reins, act on us as revelation and concealment of the Creator.  The Creator does it in order to bring us a sense of wonder; to give us a sense of excitement toward these opposing forces, which is needed in order to identify Him as one. Therefore, on one hand I want to identify this entire system in me, while on the other hand I want to stay outside it like a judge and observe how the Creator operates in me with these two opposing forces; how He manipulates me this way or the other.

One may think that the perspective described above would lead him to feel disconnected from what he reads, like an outside observer.  However, with time a person will feel that he can be involved and he can observe the "left line," "right line," and "middle line" and can include himself in the various situations.  In other words, a person should operate from a desire to climb to the next level and in order to do that he needs to go through various conflicting states.  At the same time, one must not lose himself in these conflicting states, but discover in each state the three lines associated with it.  Such ability is acquired with experience over time.